Sunday, June 25, 2017 – 7:30 a.m.

A ten mile race consisting of rolling hills from Lake George Village to Bolton Landing.

this doesn’t seem accurate. I remember a steep hill bet miles 4 & 5 and several the 2nd half

I always look forward to this race. I’ve wanted to run this race ever since I started running.

Except for 2014 and 2016, something has always come up: work conference, strained achilles, broken ankle, broken foot, flight cancelled & stuck in Baltimore.

This year, I signed up but I was not really prepared for a 10 mile race. I had been racing 5ks (last two weekends) and working on my speed.  My last long run was over a month ago for my half marathon on May 21. My running had also been on mostly flat surfaces. In addition, I was in NYC for work during week and that among other things had me skip runs. I didn’t run at all on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday. So I missed two training runs.  C’est la vie!

So yes, I decided to run this race but not as a race but just as a hilly long run….take it slow and enjoy the scenery. What else could I do?  (I don’t DNS unless I am injured or sick.)

The race started at 7:30 am in the village of Lake George and ended in Bolton landing (next door to the marina where we keep our boat.)

the beach on the right is the end of the race

I had a few options. There was a bus leaving Bolton Landing the morning of the race at 6-6:20 am so I could have spent Saturday on the lake with my hubby & friends and sleep on the boat. But I decided instead to stay home and drive up very early Sunday morning. I wanted to get a good night’s sleep and get things done around the house.

So I got up around 4:45 am on Sunday morning and was on the road by 5:45 for my one hour drive to the race start.

It was already warm – close to 70 and sunny. I better to get used to running in the summer temps.

I got there and found parking in the same small lot as last year and walked to the fire station to pick up my bib. Then I walked back to my car to get rid of the race tee shirt.

this year it was long sleeved

Back at the fire station, I used the rest room (there were real ones) and waited outside until start time. I was surprised at how many people were racing – over 200 (but fewer than previous years) and all the fast runners who were there (from the local running clubs.)

I bumped into some runners whom I haven’t seen in a while, Annette from STEM, Sue my NYC roommate and Karen, one of the SRMs, Jenny from ARE among others and we chatted until it was time to line up.

with fellow STEM mentor

The race was not chip timed so I tried to start not too far back but behind the speedsters.

The first mile goes through town and is the only flat portion of the race.

I’m in the pink hat and socks

As I mentioned, this course is hilly but it is also very scenic (not Utah scenic but nice for aroid these parts). I planned to focus on the scenery to take my mind off the hills.

I also made sure to watch the uneven pavement since you had to run along the side of the road and there were many ruts.  And the traffic.  The road was not closed so you had to pay attention to cars and trucks going by.

As I mentioned, I had NOT trained for this race and the last thing I wanted to happen would be to strain or hurt a body part.  I stopped at every water stop (there were 5 or 6.)

that’s me gulping water but seeing a camera LOL

and I walked part of every hill.  I played leap frog with a lady in orange.  On the uphill, she passed me and on the downhills, I passed her.  We laughed about it. She would yell as she went by me “See you soon. I know you’re going to pass me!”

see, I told you walked!!

not me! I wish… (photo by Donald Yeaton)

The course is beautiful.  A view of the lake was on your right side for most of the race.

Except for the beginning and end mile, the route was shaded by trees.  That helped a lot since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun made it fell warmer than it was.

photo by Don Yeaton

I kept glancing at watch (finally had a working one) and even with all the walking, I was still running around a 9:30 minute pace for the first 5 miles.

Then I started to get tired and my lack of training became obvious.

The hills were steeper the first half but the second half seemed harder. The hills kept coming and coming. And of course, I got a blister (I forgot to put moleskin on – my bad!) on the usual spot on my right foot.

But for the most part, I felt great – no foot pain, no back pain, no aches at all. I guess I could have pushed harder.  But there didn’t seem to be a reason. I felt strong and was enjoying the race.

I knew by the last few miles that this race would be a PR. However, it did look like I would have a course PR.  I was psyched!

I finally made it to where you turn right into the park to get to the finish line. I was surprised to see my hubby there cheering me on. (No photo, though). Of course, at that point I ran as fast as I could.

The official results say that I crossed at 1:39:35. Slower than my 1:38:45 PR but almost 2 minutes faster than last year. A Course PR!  I’ll take it!

Everyone got medals which is always a plus.

I was so happy to have finished. I was pleased with my time.

I bumped into some friends again. We headed straight to the water to soak our feet in the cold lake water.

ahhhhhhhhhhhh

A great end to a great race.

view of our marina from the race end

my friend Jenny still cooling off

Then I grabbed several pieces of watermelon and some pastry. The watermelon really hit the spot.

They randomly marked bibs for runners to receive door prizes.  AND I WON!

not something I will ever use but hey…

Also for this race, they gave out awards to first place in EVERY age rather than an Age Group. They had a screen with the race results scrolling and I saw that there were two 64-year old women faster than me so I didn’t stick around.

64 year olds

I walked next door (how convenient) where my hubby was waiting to head out on the lake. I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun on the water

and on one of the islands (reading a book) where we docked for awhile.

see the SUPs?

I was starved (Running 10 miles does that to you!) so we docked our boat at a restaurant and had an early dinner.

So back to the race…

NO Splits. They showed while I was running but they did not record.  (I’ll get this watch thing figured out if it kills me…)

I really loved running this race. It is the road that I drive every weekend during the summer to go boating. I know every inch of the route.

Maybe next year, I’ll actually train for it and race it. (Wait, I said that last year. LOL)

As I already mentioned, this race was on my bucket list and now it is on my race to run every year list.

Since it’s Friday, I’m linking up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup! Join in! Don’t forget to link back to your hostesses and visit some other bloggers.

My topic for today is:

WHAT I  LOVE ABOUT THE ADR

1. Lake Views
2. Shady route
3. Watermelon for post-race refreshments
4. Soaking your feet in the lake post-race
5. 10 miles is a great distance (Aren’t the last 3 miles of a half marathon the hardest?)

WHAT I DON’T LOVE ABOUT THE ADR

1. Hills
2. Uneven Pavement at times
3. Traffic on the road while you’re running
4. No age group awards
5. Not chip timed

All of the above are minor in my book.  Can’t wait for next year!

Happy Running! How was your weekend?  Did you run or do something else fun? Do you like 10 mile races?